Here are the essential oil samples that came with my kit. I love the colorful labels! I wish the little sample containers were easier to open, but other than that I really like that they provide them. I often see recipes or projects but don’t want to go hunt down or order a whole bottle of a couple oils to try that one thing.

Dusting Spray

The first project I did was the dusting spray.

The dusting spray was simple – just combining all the ingredients! It smells great and I’m excited about using this. This will especially come in handy because my husband and I each have our own office and desks in our new house and this will make it extra easy to dust these surfaces.

One thing I will say I was a little confused by is that the instructions for the dusting spray say to start by adding the water and vinegar, and then add the essential oils and then the olive oil. Well, the liquid ingredients for the dusting spray have the vinegar and the olive oil mixed together already.

I checked their new videos for reference, but the videos don’t show the projects being done with the materials sent in the boxes – they show them with all the ingredients separated. This makes the videos great for people looking to do these projects with what they have around the house, but it doesn’t help to clarify any confusion for how to specifically make them using their kits. I hope they change this for future months and videos!

Freshen Up Hand Sanitizer

The next project I did was the Hand Sanitizer. This one uses Thieves oil that smells amazing. DoTerra’s version is called OnGuard and I have that, too, but Thieves just smells so good. That made me know I was going to like this sanitizer!

Again, a simple craft! It just involved mixing and shaking all the ingredients. I really liked this project because I couldn’t have told you how to make hand sanitizer. Plus I love that this doesn’t have that strong alcohol smell (since there isn’t any)!

Dishwasher Detergent

The next project I did was the dishwasher detergent.

Here’s the finished result! This one was also a little confusing, even though it was also just mixing the ingredients together.

Here’s where I was confused: you mix the dry ingredients, and then you’re supposed to mix in the vinegar slowly and finish with the essential oils. When adding the vinegar, the instructions say “You may not need the entire amount of vinegar, so add a little at a time.” I found this to be really vague because it didn’t tell me when I should stop adding vinegar or when there was enough (and neither did the video)! So, I ended up just adding the whole oz they provided. It did say some fizzing and bubbling would occur and it definitely did, which was kind of fun. However, instead of ending up with a powder detergent, I ended up with a foam-y almost kind of cake-y concoction. I think this is because I added too much vinegar, maybe? I’m not sure if I can still use this – I don’t want to put a “well, this might be right!” project into my dishwasher. I’m imagining a crazy scene with bubbles covering the whole kitchen, haha.

I did love the little wooden scoop they provided, though! So cute.

Product Wash

The produce wash doesn’t have a recipe because it’s just a 2x-use little vial that you pour into water with the produce and let it sit for 2 minutes. While I’m happy to have this to use (especially in the summer. There’s no project to do or essential oils involved. It does help me “green my routine” though, and Lemon Crate promises 3-5 projects so I’m sort of thinking of it as an extra little bonus to my 3 projects that helps me be more eco-friendly.

Verdict: Last month, my first My Lemon Crate hit it out of the park! I like this month’s box less, unfortunately. I do still like it but I feel like there are some things they could have done better. First of all, the instructions could have been a little more clear since I found them to be a little vague at a couple points. I also really feel that their videos (while cute and well done) should be done using the kits contents so that I can use them for reference/help if I get confused with the written cards. The videos work great for being shared on social media/helping you make stuff using the things you have on hand, but don’t necessarily add much help with the kit.

Okay, now onto the good things this month! Again, I think they provided projects that helped me realize some more ways I can use essential oils than just diffusing them like I do now. I still also really love the packaging! The containers they provided for the projects are beautiful little glasses (even two of the little ingredient vials were glass with screw tops), and the labels are really well done and stylish. They’re perfect for gifting!

I know the projects are pretty easy but I’m happy with that because I can’t commit to super hands-on or complicated projects right now as a new mom who also has a lot of other stuff to do, too (and a baby that doesn’t nap)! As far as value goes, I personally think the value is there. I could get the little jars and containers and such for less than $29, but not also bags of all the other ingredients involved (especially for the detergent) and definitely not also the essential oils I would need. And like I mentioned earlier, it is convenient to not have to buy full-size containers of ingredients like this that I wouldn’t really use except for just a couple projects. (And, after trying some home made products thanks to this crate, I can decide if I want to go buy full-size ingredients to keep making my own things like dish detergent, etc!).

Haley Faye first discovered Beauty Army and Birchbox in 2012 and instantly fell hard and fast for the world of subscription boxes. Over the years of writing for MSA she has found many subscriptions to fuel her addiction, but her favorites include fashion, geeky, beauty, and mom/baby boxes to share with her son.

All views in this review are the opinion of the author. My Subscription Addiction will never accept payment in exchange for a review, but will accept a box at no cost to provide honest opinions on the box. This post may contain affiliate/referral links. Read the complete My Subscription Addiction disclosure.

4 Comments

LoRi
May 2, 2016 at 7:21 pm

It’s too bad My Lemon Crate isn’t checking this forum. I think they did last time? It would be beneficial to them to address some of the questions and unsureties in the review.

Oh we are closely watching the forum- however, it was the reviewers opinion that the recipes were confusing, and we can’t really protest with that.
1- She’s absolutely right that the dusting spray recipe contradicted itself. When we make the videos, we use the crate contents, empty them into containers, and use exactly what we send. We decided to combine the liquid contents for that recipe, and didn’t change the wording- totally our mistake.
2- The dishwasher detergent will vary by region. Here in Florida where humidity is 95% most days, our powdered ingredients will maintain more moisture naturally and require less liquid to form a detergent powder to spoon. In a colder climate, you may need more liquid, which is why we instructed to add a little at a time until your desired consistency was reached. We also did demonstrate that in the video- there is no cause for concern with using the mixture, as it will disperse in the jar- but again, that was the reviewers opinion.
We make ourselves available to all of our customers for any questions or concerns- we answer questions around the clock and pride ourselves on customer service. Had any of these questions been posed on any of our social media pages or in an email, we would have happily clarified so she didn’t feel it was a waste or confusing.